Best Director

Most pundits will toss stats around conveying the rather precarious situation that Tom Hooper is in following the rather cool reception for Les Misérables. The film is certainly not the juggernaut that it was initially perceived, but don’t let that fool you – it’s still very much in the mix. While most would say there are two open slots for Best Director, I’d wager that Hooper is too ingrained in the conversation to think he’s out – there’s one open slot with, realistically, about five other directors in the running. The auteurist’s theory suggests the spot goes to either Paul Thomas Anderson or Michael Haneke while perceived Oscar frontrunners like Ang Lee and David O. Russell are tossed in the mix. The one guy who strikes something of a middle ground is Quentin Tarantino, so I’ll go with him.